Police: Speed, alcohol factors in I-275 crash that killed teen

Speed and alcohol are factors in a crash on eastbound I-275 at Kellogg Avenue that killed a 16-year-old boy Sunday, Cincinnati police said.

Damion Henderson was a back seat passenger in a 2003 Mercedes ML350 that lost control as it traveled 80 mph in a 65 mph zone near the Kellogg Avenue exit about 5:15 p.m., a crash report shows.

The vehicle struck a guard rail on the left side of the road, ran across the right side of the highway and continued to rotate. The Mercedes came to a stop in the right lane.

Henderson, a sophomore at Amelia High School, was thrown out of the back window. He was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

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A gold Mercedes SUV was carrying a man and three teenage boys when it crashed on I-275 East just past Kellogg Avenue, killing one teen.(Photo: The Enquirer/Amanda VanBenschoten)

He was taken to Mercy Hospital Anderson, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver of the Mercedes, Larry Molloy, 41, wore a seatbelt and was not hurt, police said.

Molloy(Photo: Provided)

Neither were his other two passengers, Daniel Hesslin, 17, and Dylan Molloy, 14. Those teens also wore seat belts.

In remarks to reporters at the crash scene Sunday night, Sgt. Rodney Carter of the police department's traffic unit urged the public to always wear seat belts.

The crash remains under investigation. No charges have been filed yet.

The driver has been cited twice in the past for operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and several times for speeding, court records in Hamilton and Clermont counties show.

Molloy was convicted of the charge in Hamilton County in 2007. An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper pulled his white, 1998 Mercedes over on Fields Ertel Road in Symmes Township at 1:33 a.m. Jan. 28, 2007.

At the time, his two children, who were then 5 and 7, were inside the vehicle, so Molloy also was charged with child endangering.

He pleaded no contest to both charges and was given six months probation and driving restrictions, records state.

In 2009, he was convicted of driving under the influence again in Clermont County's Union Township after a township police officer pulled his vehicle over on I-275.

He was put on probation until 2012.

His license was suspended with work privileges after both convictions.

It currently is valid, said Lindsey Bohrer, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Grief counselors were on hand today at Amelia High School.

"A young person's death is always tragic, and a sudden loss like this can have a profound effect on fellow students," Principal Keith Hickman wrote in a letter today to parents.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Henderson's family has asked Hickman to pass details along to the public once details are finalized.

"On behalf of Amelia High School, I have extended our sincere condolences to the Damion's family on this sad occasion," the principal's letter reads. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Henderson family."